How Edmund and Caspian Came to Share a Hammock
by MesT
Summary: Title says it all. Based on "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." Very short!


**A/N:** I am in the process of reading _The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader," _and it is hands down my favorite book of the series thus far. I like it so much that I was inspired to write a very short fanfic, mimicking the writing style of the book as much as possible. This is also my fastest written fic. The idea just came to my head and I _had _to type it up. For those of you who haven't read it, here are some minor spoilers to give you a better idea of the story:

**Minor Spoilers: **Edmund, Caspian, and the rest of the crew share the same room on the ship. Eustace is Edmund's fairly sour cousin who keeps a journal in times of stress.

"_King Edmund and I can lie very snug here below." – Caspian, Voyage of the "Dawn Treader"_

**How Edmund and Caspian Came to Share a Hammock**

"Hullo! What's _this_?" said Caspian a little too loudly, momentarily waking some of the sleeping crew. He had just begun to crawl into his hammock after a rather long and dreary day when he sat on something bony.

The bones turned out to be none other than Edmund, who appeared to have fallen asleep in the wrong hammock. The King, adamant upon sleeping in his own spot and nowhere else, insisted on waking and moving the boy.

"I say, Edmund, do return me my sleeping quarters this instant. King Edmund!"

There was much sleepy grumbling from the younger boy who still refused to move. Caspian grabbed one of Edmund's feet, meaning to drag him off, and received a sharp kick in the chest. The noise of him falling over boxes and crates seemed to finally rouse Edmund.

"Caspian, is that you?" he said, rubbing his eyes. "High time to be making such a racket. You'll wake the crew at this rate, and you know how difficult they can be without proper sleep."

Caspian lay on the floor in a rather twisted position and did no more than glare at the boy for some time. He stood up with some difficulty and pointed first at Edmund, then at Edmund's hammock.

"I will do no such thing," said the Pevensie boy, catching the King's meaning. "I'm quite comfortable here – hey ho!" he exclaimed as Caspian pounced on him and the two began to wrestle. This lasted for no more than a few minutes before the hammock tore and spilled both of them out onto the floor.

"I will have your heads, Sires, if you do not _shut up_," said Reepicheep, quite boldly in his drowsy state, from some dark corner of the room.

Caspian and Edmund panted and tried to stare each other down. Finally they both stood up (Caspian a little more painfully, this being his second fall of the night) and discovered that only one working hammock remained. The boys stared at the hammock in silence for a bit, both getting a little red in the face.

"I'm King and I command you to sleep on the floor," said Caspian, this time keeping his voice low for Reepicheep's sake.

"I'm King too," said Edmund.

"I'm older."

"Technically _I'm_ older."

After a few more words of banter, neither reached an agreement and both found themselves back to the beginning of the quarrel. Caspian shifted from one foot to the other, a little uncomfortably.

"I suppose we have no choice, than to ah – share?" he ventured, a little hopeful that the other might have a better plan.

"I suppose it has come to this," said Edmund. "The trials we face, on this treacherous journey…" he continued, for dramatic effect.

"Right, then, let's get it over with," said Caspian, making the first move toward the hammock. He lay down in it a little tensely, staring at Edmund with what he hoped was his most intimidating look. Edmund frowned a little but seemed to resign to his fate. He walked over and gingerly lay down as well.

If you know anything about hammocks, you will know that it can get very cramped indeed with two people sharing just one. In order for Edmund to not immediately fall out, he had little choice but to rest one of his legs and arms and part of his side on top of Caspian so that only half of him was supported by the hammock. The Kings lay there a bit disgruntled, staring into the darkness in silence. But eventually the gentle rocking of the ship and the muffled sounds of the waves lulled them both to sleep.

The next morning Eustace took one look at the pair and scrambled to find his journal. He made the following entry:

_August 8__th__: _Found that blasted Edmund and that insufferable Caspian sleeping_, together_, in the same hammock. What's worse is C had one arm wrapped around E's waist, and E was on his side with his face practically snuggled against C's neck! I don't know if this kind of position was intentional, and if it wasn't, I sure hope to see their reaction upon waking. And if it was intentional, then I am newly convinced that nothing good can come out of this miserable journey. British Consul, here I come!


End file.
